Health

To obtain better value for health-care dollars, it's important to evaluate in detail which ones are well-spent and which are not. The $150-billion-a-year market for implantable medical devices in the U.S. -- which includes everything from artificial hips to pacemakers -- is a good illustration of this challenge and how to meet it.

In recent years, frugal and reverse innovation have gained attention as potential strategies for increasing the quality and accessibility of health care while slowing the growth in its costs. Thomas J. Bollyky arges that the demand for these types of innovation is increasing and outlines three practical questions for policymakers seeking real investments and results.

Medicare costs are rising a bit faster than they have during the past few years. But by reinforcing some the changes that are already occurring, we can nip this increase in the bud -- and two developments show the way.

Already struggling to meet the needs of its people before its earthquake, the weak government of Nepal faces enormous obstacles in warding off further disaster and harnessing outside aid, writes CFR’s Laurie Garrett.

The United Nations Global Ebola Response released this report in May 2015. It discusses how the outbreak occurred, describes the impact of the outbreak for health, schools, the economy, and more, and provides analysis on how to coordinate a better response in the future.

Research links for news, current outbreaks, research and data, legislation, conferences, and primary sources focused on global health and organizations involved in addressing infectious diseases (also known as communicable diseases) such as Ebola, polio, MERS and influenza.

U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released this draft of its report Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States on April 7, 2015, in response to President Obama's Climate Action Plan. The final report, expected to be published in early 2016, is "intended to present a comprehensive, evidence-based, and, where possible, quantitative estimation of observed and projected public health impacts related to climate change in the United States."

In his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, Thomas J. Bollyky argues that continued U.S. and private sector leadership on the unfinished health agenda in Africa is as important now as it has been in the past and for the same reasons: a peaceful, inclusive economy presupposes healthier, more productive lives.

The WHO’s tobacco treaty in 2005 was hailed as a crucial tool for controlling one of the world’s most lethal substances and as a model for confronting other global health problems. Ten years later it is a qualified success, write CFR’s Thomas J. Bollyky and David P. Fidler.

Though polio had nearly been eradicated, the virus is on the rise amid an increase in violence against vaccine workers in conflict zones. This Backgrounder examines the challenges to eradicating the disease.

Global-scale vaccination campaigns have dramatically reduced measles illnesses and deaths in the poorest pockets of the planet, but the richest pockets of humanity are shunning the public health tool. Disease incidence is rising among the rich as it falls among the poor.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

The authors argue that the United States has responded inadequately to the rise of Chinese power and recommend placing less strategic emphasis on the goal of integrating China into the international system and more on balancing China's rise.

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »